EU states seal deal to share task of refugee care

European Union countries have reached a groundbreaking agreement to manage irregular immigration, enabling front-line states to rapidly transfer people to other EU nations in the event of sudden influxes due to conflicts, natural disasters and climate emergencies.

The 27 countries will now proceed with further negotiations, aiming to have a functioning migration system in place before the 2024 European Parliament election that extends across the union of approximately 450 million people.

"Now we can move on with the negotiations," said Swedish Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard. "It is important to get the pact in place, to ensure order at the EU's external borders and reduce flows."

Spain's acting minister for home affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gomez, described the primary goal of the deal as sharing the migration burden across the entire EU, allowing frontier states to request "solidarity and support measures from the EU and its member states".

The deal was made after Germany and Italy resolved a dispute that illustrated the varying strategies of European governments in addressing migration.

In a social media post, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "The reform will be effective in limiting irregular migration in Europe and provide lasting relief to countries like Germany. A historic turning point."

Italy, Germany settle row

A diplomatic source told Reuters that Italy agreed to the deal after Germany reconsidered its position on the use of emergency measures to cope with migrants rescued by nongovernmental organizations.

Poland and Hungary voted against the deal due to their firm stance against hosting individuals from the Middle East and Africa, the source said, adding that Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia abstained from the vote, which was ultimately passed by the majority.

National leaders of 47 EU and non-EU countries, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, were gathering in Granada, Spain, on Thursday to address rising irregular migration, which is particularly impacting Mediterranean nations such as Italy.

During the special summit of what's called the European Political Community, a new body set up last year after the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sunak was expected to seek increased European collaboration to address what he describes as the "immoral and unsustainable" surge of irregular migrants on the continent's borders.

The BBC reported Sunak would request "creative Europe-wide solutions", including battling people smuggling activities and reinforcing border controls.

Sunak was due to co-chair a leaders' meeting with Italy's Prime Minister Georgia Meloni to address Italy's influx of more than 100,000 migrants this year, which is five times more than the United Kingdom, and confirm intelligence-sharing agreements with leaders of Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to dismantle criminal networks.